This invention is directed to a marine hub device with interchangeable arms, for mounting of fishing boating and other equipment and which may be supported on a seat pedestal or other post, e.g., boat pedestals and dock support posts.
The marine hub is a boating accessory which may be tubular, disk-shape, cylindrical, square, rectangular or in the form of a hexagonal or octagonal member that fits over or around the seat pedestal or other post, and which has a number of projecting members that extend generally horizontally and generally radially out from the support post, and onto which a variety of attachment arms can be mounted. The attachment arms may include such accessories as a rod holder, a bait holder, or a support for a camera or entertainment device, for example. An adapter ring or sleeve may be included, as necessary, to match the inside diameter of the marine hub to the diameter of the support post.
The main object of this invention is to provide a highly adaptable device for supporting various tools, appliances and accessories from the generally cylindrical seat pedestal of a fishing boat, or on any of a wide variety of similar vertical tubular posts, such as dock posts. The device has a hub portion that mounts around the outer diameter of the pedestal, and an arrangement for tightening the hub onto the pedestal, and also has a number of interchangeable arms that fit onto (or into) members that radiates out from the hub. In some cases the radial members on the arms can be male stubs that fit into female sockets on the inside end of the interchangeable arms, but alternatively the arrangement could have female sockets on the radial members to each receive a male fitting on the inward end of the respective interchangeable arm. Because the female socket portion can be on either the stub or the arm, and the complementary male portion may be on the arm or on the stub, the term “socket member” will be used in the description and in the claims to refer generally to either arrangement. The arms may be straight and entirely horizontal, but may also have a downward or upward bend, or an offset so they radiate above or below the level of the hub. The concept is certainly not limited only to a single embodiment or a few embodiments, but can take on a wide variety of forms. The hub and arms may be steel or aluminum, and a number of high-strength technical plastic resins are available for use in the hub or in the interchangeable arms.
In keeping with a number of important aspects of the invention, a marine hub may comprise a generally round-profile hub body member having a vertically oriented central bore adapted to fit snugly onto a vertical generally cylindrical support post, such as a seat pedestal. The body member fits snugly and securely onto the support post in any of a number of ways, releasably gripping the support post to hold the body member securely in place on it. A plurality of support plug members or support stub members protrude generally radially and horizontally outward from the hub body member and a plurality of elongated attachment arms each have a (male or female) a socket member formed at a radially inward end and adapted for fit removably onto or into a respective one of the support plug or stub members. The terms “plug” and “stub” may be used somewhat interchangeably to refer to the members affixed to the hub body and onto which the support arms are removably supported. For secure attachment, the plug or stub members and the socket members of the attachment arms each have at least one through bore configured such that the through bores align when the respective attachment arms are placed onto or into the associated support stub or plug members. One or more retaining pins are provided so that at least one retaining pin can penetrate the aligned through bores of the support stub or plug members and attachment arms to hold the attachment arms removably in place supported onto the marine hub body member. The support plugs or stubs can favorably be of square cross section and the socket members of the attachment arms being square tubular members. Alternatively, the support plugs or stubs can be of polygonal cross section and the corresponding socket members of the attachment arms may be of round, octagonal, or hexagonal section.
The arrangement for the hub body member releasably gripping the vertical post or pedestal can include a split adapter ring fitting within the central bore of the hub body member. Alternatively, the hub body member may take the form of a split tube having an axial gap therein with a pair of lugs affixed to the split tube on opposite sides of the gap, and can employ a hand screw or cam-action clamping member to serve as compressing means for drawing the lugs towards one another to compress the central bore against said support post. The cam-action clamping member can include a cam action clamp having a pin passing through the lugs, and a with lever-action cam disposed on one end of the pin.
The hand screw arrangement would have a threaded rod passing through an opening in one of said lugs and engaging a threaded bore in the other of the lugs.
In a favorable embodiment, there are three of such stub or plug members and three attachment arms, disposed on the hub body member at a nine-o'clock position, a twelve-o'clock position, and a three-o'clock position, respectively.
An adapter ring can be fitted into the central bore of the body member, and can have an outer diameter to match the inner diameter of the central bore and an inner diameter to match the outer diameter of the cylindrical support post.
The at least one retaining pin can be a quick-release pin having a hand grip at one end, and a lanyard attached to the grip or to the pin, so that the pin is not lost overboard.
Favorably the plurality of elongated attachment arms can include at least one extruded tubular member having a gap formed along one side and a keyway formed within it, and adapted for receiving keyway-mounted accessories.
In some embodiments, the hub body member may be formed as two halves with an axial hinge connecting the two halves and a compressive clamp securing the two halves of the hub body member onto the support post.
The hub body member may be formed of a pair of half-rings with a pair of bolts that secure the two half-rings to one another onto the support post.
The above and many other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the ensuing detailed description of a few selected embodiments, as explained in connection with the accompanying Drawing figures.